The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has with effect from today expanded the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London.
Article continues below
The new zone now covers every London borough and will bring cleaner air to five million more people and is also expected to reduce carbon emissions in outer London by a further 27,000 tonnes.
The Mayor will say today that the decision to expand the ULEZ was a difficult one, but necessary to save lives, protect the health of Londoners and tackle the climate crisis. Toxic air is leading to children growing up with stunted lungs, an increased risk of asthma, cancer and dementia and around 4,000 premature deaths every year in London.
The Mayor has vowed again today to continue being ‘a doer, not a delayer’ when it comes to reducing air pollution and taking bold climate action.
The ULEZ is the centrepiece of a range of measures the Mayor is implementing to tackle London’s toxic air, including putting a record number of zero-emission buses on the roads and making London’s electric vehicle charging network the largest of any city in Europe.
These additional measures are making a real difference, but all the evidence shows that clean air zones like the ULEZ are the most effective tool available to quickly and meaningfully cut air pollution in a city like London, having already reduced air pollution in central London by almost 50% and in inner London by a fifth.
A major public awareness campaign has been underway for eight months to ensure drivers and businesses are ready for the ULEZ expansion today, with TfL’s online vehicle checker being used more than thirteen million times during this period.
ULEZ is a highly targeted scheme that helps to take the most polluting vehicles off London’s roads.
Ninety percent of cars seen driving in outer London on an average day are already compliant and their drivers will not have to pay the charge but will see the benefits of cleaner air.
Having continued to listen to the concerns of Londoners, the Mayor and TfL have massively expanded the scrappage scheme so that every single Londoner affected by ULEZ can now access thousands of pounds of support in addition to the scrappage value of their old polluting vehicle.
All Londoners with non-compliant cars can now get £2,000 for scrapping a car or £1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle. Small businesses and charities can now receive increased grant payments of between £6,000 and £11,500.
Eligible charities, businesses and sole traders can now apply for up to three vans or minibuses to be scrapped or retrofitted in total. And the payment for wheelchair accessible vehicles has increased from £5,000 to £10,000, with grants of £6,000 available to retrofit a van to ULEZ standards.
A number of mitigations have also been made for different groups, including exemptions for disabled people and wheelchair accessible vehicles until October 2027 – and new six-month grace periods also recognise that small businesses and charities are doing the right thing and adapting to the ULEZ but may face a delay with receiving their new vehicle or retrofit appointment.
It can be revealed today that since opening the scrappage scheme up to all Londoners, there has been a significant spike in the number of people applying for support, with a 111 per cent increase in traffic to the scrappage website since 21 August 2023.
There have already been more than 15,000 applications received since 21 August, and nearly £6m of new funds committed to Londoners. The number of scrappage applications for cars and motorcycles since 21 August is up more than 1,000 per cent on the previous week.
The total amount the Mayor has invested in the scrappage scheme for the ULEZ expansion is £160m, the most generous scrappage scheme ever seen in the UK.
The Mayor previously committed more then £60m for the central London and inner London ULEZ. There is still £100 million of funding available so the Mayor is encouraging Londoners with non ULEZ-compliant vehicles to come forward to get the financial support on offer, which is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Mayor continues to call on the Government to fund scrappage in London and the Home Counties, as they have done for other cities across the UK.
The ULEZ has already proven to be transformational in London, cutting harmful nitrogen dioxide by nearly half in central London and by a fifth in inner London, helping to reduce the number of air pollution-related asthma admissions for children by a third, and saving 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions since 2019 (the equivalent of 1.1 million flights from London to New York).
Any net revenue raised through the ULEZ will be reinvested back into public transport, including on the expansion of bus services in outer London. The ULEZ is expected not to raise any net revenue by the 2026/2027 financial year as the percentage of compliant vehicles continues to rise.
TfL’s Auto Pay service has also reached a significant milestone. Over one million users are signed up to the scheme which is now free to register for.
For those registered there is no need to remember to pay charges when driving in London, including when the ULEZ expands on 29 August, as the payment is taken automatically from their account so they won’t be issued with a penalty charge notice.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “This is a landmark day for our city which will lead to a greener, healthier London for everyone. The decision to expand the ULEZ London-wide was a difficult one, but necessary to save lives, protect children’s lungs and help prevent asthma, dementia and other health issues. ■